The nature of the export-trade from Buenos Ayres may be generally gathered from the following summary, or comparative valuation of the exports from thence in 1822, 1825, 1829, and 1837; though, being taken from the Buenos Ayrean custom-house accounts, some allowance must be made for short manifests by the shippers, perhaps an addition of twenty per cent. to the amount officially accounted for in each year. The returns of specie and bullion exported are especially liable to this observation.
Comparative Return and Valuation of the principal Articles Exported from Buenos Ayres in the years 1822, 1825, 1829, and 1837.
| 1822. | 1825. | 1829. | 1837. | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quantity. | Price. | Value. | Quantity. | Price. | Value. | Quantity. | Price. | Value. | Quantity. | Price. | Value. | |
| Dollars. | Dollars. | Dollars. | Dollars. | Dollars. | Dollars. | Dollars. | Dollars. | |||||
| Spanish Dollars | 474,633 | — | 474,633 | 1,272,745 | — | 1,272,745 | 189,581 | — | 189,581 | 258,748 | — | 258,743 |
| Marks of Silver | 84,690 | at 8 | 677,520 | 10,559 | at 8 | 89,751 | 12,699 | at 8 | 101,592 | 4,881 | at 8 | 39,048 |
| Gold (ounces) | 12,020 | 17 | 204,340 | 10,625 | 17 | 180,625 | 24,595 | 17 | 418,115 | 21,999 | 17 | 373,983 |
| Gold (uncoined) | — | — | — | — | — | 6,000 | — | — | 13,667 | 362 | — | 6,154 |
| Copper (quintals of 100 lbs.) | 145 | 16 | 2,321 | 175 | 16 | 2,800 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ox-hides | 590,372 | 4 | 2,361,488 | 655,255 | 5 | 2,621,020 | 854,799 | 4 | 3,419,196 | 823,635 | 4 | 3,294,540 |
| Horse-hides | 421,566 | 1 | 421,566 | 339,703 | 1 | 339,703 | 64,563 | 1½ | 96,844 | 25,367 | 1½ | 38,046 |
| Jerk Beef (quintals) | 87,663 | 4 | 350,652 | 130,361 | 4 | 521,444 | 164,818 | 2 | 329,638 | 178,877 | 2½ | 446,192 |
| Horns | 673,000 | 70 per mil. | 47,110 | 1,553,880 | 60 per mil. | 93,228 | 1,500,905 | 60 per mil. | 90,000 | 434,456 | 60 | 26,070 |
| Horsehair (arobes of 25 lbs.) | 38,137 | 3 | 114,411 | 44,776 | 3 | 134,028 | 26,682 | 3 | 110,046 | 70,372 | 3 | 211,116 |
| Sheeps' wool (arobes) | 33,417 | 1 | 33,417 | — | — | — | 30,334 | 1 | 30,334 | 164,706 | 2 | 329,412 |
| Chinchilla skins (dozens) | 9,077 | 4 | 36,308} | 35,670 | 5 | 178,350 | 6,625 | 5 | 33,125 | 3,317 | 4 | 13,268 |
| Nutria skins (dozens) | 9,914 | 3 | 29,742 | 59,756 | 3 | 179,268 | 51,853 | 2½ | 129,632 | |||
| Tallow (arobes) | 69,400 | 2 | 124,800 | 12,167 | 1½ | 18,250 | 21,757 | 3 | 65,271 | 100,249 | 1½ | 150,373 |
| Bark (lbs.) | 5,824 | ½ | 2,912 | 5,879 | ½ | 2,939 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cotton (arobes) | — | — | — | 2,000 | 2½ | 5,000 | 968 | 2 | 1,936 | 160 | 3 | 480 |
| Sheep-skins (dozens) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 56,188 | 2½ | 140,470 |
| Flour (fanegas) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 14,069 | 4 | 56,268 |
| Corn (do.) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4,150 | 3½ | 14,525 |
| Sundry Minor Articles | — | — | 118,780 | — | — | 84,117 | — | — | 121,387 | — | — | 108,818 |
| Totals | Value of Precious Metals | 1,358,814 | 5,000,000 | Precious Metals | 1,551,921 | 5,550,000 | Precious Metals | 722,955 | 5,200,000 | Precious Metals | 677,928 | 5,637,138 |
| " Native Produce | 3,641,156 | Native Produce | 3,998,079 | Native Produce | 4,477,045 | Native Produce | 4,959,210 | |||||
The annual account of the imports and exports, continuing to take the year 1822 as an example, may perhaps be generally stated as follows:
| Dollars. | ||
|---|---|---|
| The imports for that year, as stated at page [337] (less those re-exported), were valued at | 9,944,057 | |
| From the gross value of the imports about 30 per cent. must be deducted for duties, landing charges, commission, guarantee of debts, and warehouse rent, say | 2,983,217 | |
| 6,960,840 | ||
| The exports are estimated at | 5,000,000 | |
| Add for short manifests | 1,000,000 | |
| For charges, 10 per cent. | 600,000 | |
| 6,600,000 | ||
| 360,840 | ||
This difference, which upon the whole was of little importance, was at once accounted for by the investments of foreign capital in the purchase of every kind of property in the country previously to the war with Brazil.
Although foreigners, as has been already observed, were heavy sufferers by the events of that war, the country was benefited in a way which could hardly have been foreseen. In the impossibility of making returns to Europe during the continuance of the blockade, the greater part of the large amount of foreign property locked up in it was laid out in cattle-farms, agricultural establishments, saladeros (where the jerk beef is made), houses, and a variety of speculations, the general tendency of which was greatly to improve the real resources of the country. Thus, although upon the whole there was afterwards apparently a falling off in the foreign trade of the port of Buenos Ayres compared with what it was before the war, there was in reality an increase in the quantities of the staple commodities of the country brought to market.
This was encouraging, inasmuch as it is in proportion to the increase and multiplication of the native productions that we must look for the stability and improvement of this trade—the great difficulty being to collect returns for the importations from foreign countries. Hides and skins have been till lately the only articles of any importance obtainable, though it is manifest that the country is highly capable of producing a variety of other articles of great value in a commercial point of view.